


The Dumbass Next Door

by viewpoint



Category: Stray Kids (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Neighbors, College, Fancy, First Kiss, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, I forgot swearing lol, Literal Sleeping Together, M/M, Neighbors, One Shot, Sleeping Together, Strangers to Friends to Lovers, Student Kim Seungmin, Study Date, Swearing, Tutoring, University Student Kim Seungmin, messy hyunjin, perfect student seungmin, stray kids - Freeform, those hashtags are so messy idk, twice
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-01
Updated: 2021-02-01
Packaged: 2021-03-12 14:42:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,418
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29137260
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/viewpoint/pseuds/viewpoint
Summary: Seungmin only wishes for three things: graduation, peace in the world, and for his stupid neighbour to stop playing 'Fancy' two times a day.
Relationships: Hwang Hyunjin & Kim Seungmin, Hwang Hyunjin/Kim Seungmin
Comments: 30
Kudos: 172





	The Dumbass Next Door

Not everyone gets it, but some people just really enjoy classical music. There was something thrilling about all those different instruments creating a perfect harmony together. Or at least that was what Seungmin heard. He was never moved by it himself, the same as he couldn’t really get jazz, but there was nothing wrong about it. He had great respect towards all the music genres, so he didn’t think there was something bad about him disliking something people expected him to like. 

He was a simple guy, he enjoyed melodic voices and meaningful lyrics. He liked music getting deep and emotional, even if the instruments were simple. He could notice unspeakable beauty in songs that used just a guitar or only a piano.

He also knew that not everyone had similar thinking to him. He met hundreds of people with plenty of different music tastes, especially since he started college and moved to the dormitory. He met some people who were really into old Scandinavian music, and maybe he didn’t enjoy hearing it himself, but he still found it fascinating. He met some fans of trot and even though he would never predict it, he actually found the guys even younger than him getting excited over trot songs kind of adorable. He met some people who were really into Japanese techno, and as long as the music itself seemed a bit scary to Seungmin, people who introduced it to him were surprisingly sweet. 

He really tried not to judge. Even though he didn’t always understand the way some people were getting excited over dubstep or trap, or some other new electronic shit that seemed to be so soulless to him. Some people just enjoyed it, and that was totally fine. 

And some people just enjoyed listening to 'Fancy' by Twice on repeat, as the name of the group suggests twice a day or at least twice a week, on huge ass speakers that would be able to wake the dead and make it want to come back to the grave right away. Yeah, some people really enjoyed that. Like the dumbass next door.

Seungmin would even be willing to live with that. People had their quirks, didn’t they? He was sure that some would find some of his habits weird. He couldn’t tell which one it would be, but he was sure his colleagues would be able to find something. He was only human after all, same as his dormitory neighbour was. 

The only thing that he couldn’t understand was why he always had to choose the moments when Seungmin had to study. Every time when he was loaded with college work, when he was on the verge of giving up and was starting considering dropping out, the idiot had to turn his big ass speakers on. If he at least tried to keep his playlist diverse. But no. Every fucking time. Fancy. Fucking. You. 

And this week was a particular pain in the ass. Every assignment he was given was due to this week. Every important exam seemed to love this week also. Every possible disaster decided to come this week, no exceptions. Seungmin was surprised that at least the week was pretty quiet so far, not a single sound came from behind a wall. At least the guy there had this much of mercy. It was finally the last day of his sufferings, just one more time, two exams on a day, but it was doable. Seungmin just had to focus, he had to keep his mind on his books, and on his books only, and it was possible to be done. He was kind of distressed since he didn’t have so much time, but it wasn’t that bad. Until this happened. The sudden blast of music that almost kicked him out of his chair. And God, Seungmin really hated Twice. He had no other choice than to hate Twice.

Enough. He had had enough. 

He didn’t even know what he was doing when he rose to his feet and ran out of his room. He turned right immediately, straight to the door of this idiot, motivated to end this madness once and for good. He knew that his neighbour wouldn’t hear his knocking in this noise. He couldn’t probably hear his own thoughts if he even had any. He just wanted him to see someone was pissed off, that’s why without thinking he pulled the door handle. How surprised he was when the door opened. 

Instinctively, still holding the handle, he stepped in. His eyes grew probably as big, as his neighbour’s eyes were. If he’d ever give a thought to what that guy was doing while listening to 'Fancy', he’d imagine him dancing like an idiot he was. Maybe singing along, even though Seungmin could never hear him accompanying the Twice members’ voices. He could even imagine him cleaning his room, even though it was happening way too often, even to Seungmin’s standard. But there he was, in his bed, crying.

Of course, his tears stopped running as soon as a stranger invalidated his privacy, but his red eyes and still wet cheeks exposed him right away. He didn’t say a word. He was just staring at Seungmin from his bed, still shocked, and Seungmin stared back as if the guy was the one who just burst into his room. Eventually, he collected himself as the absurdness of this situation got to him. 

“Sorry,” he just mumbled, as he stepped back and closed the door behind him, running away to the safety of his room. 

  
  
  
  
  


There was not a single day when he didn’t think about it. It was not only the awkwardness, the embarrassment, all that went wrong with it. It was that guy. 

He knew him, even though he never realised they lived in the neighbouring rooms in the dormitory. He was the same major as Seungmin, so he’d noticed him a few times. He was a mess, that was what Seungmin always thought. Always late to class, always half asleep, always falling behind. He never judged him, he felt sorry for him in a way. Seungmin had always been organised. He never knew a different way, it was easy for him. But some people struggled, and he realised it wasn’t always their fault. 

Seungmin thought this guy might’ve been a person like that. He knew that before, so now he just couldn’t stop thinking about it. They were the same major, was that why he was always choosing the times before their exams for his crying sessions? Was he getting overwhelmed with studying, was crying his reaction to stress? It made Seungmin feel bad, and as much as he wanted them to go away, those thoughts weren’t willing to leave his head.

Just a few days passed before their next meeting. Seungmin was strolling down the corridor, with his books in his hands, when he felt somebody pulling his forearm. He turned around to see the boy’s face, his soft features already filled with concern.

“Hey,” the stranger started shyly, and Seungmin felt the embarrassment again. 

He knew he should have properly apologised for that situation right away. But until now, he couldn’t bring himself to do it. Did the boy stop him now to yell at him for bursting into his room? No, it couldn’t be it, since he started so timidly. 

“I wanted to say sorry,” his neighbour continued, and Seungmin felt taken aback. “I didn’t realise I was disturbing you, I just didn’t want you to hear…”

He didn’t want him to hear? Was he blasting music to protect Seungmin’s peace and silence? Then it got to him what he actually meant. Crying. He didn’t want Seungmin, and probably their other neighbours to hear him cry. He wanted them to think he was happy and collected. Or well… at least happy. He just wanted to hide his struggle.

It made Seungmin feel even worse, especially remembering how many times he swore the boy out in his thoughts. 

“It’s okay,” he mumbled back, not sure what else he could say. 

The boy had a very uncomfortable habit of looking people straight in the eyes, Seungmin could see it now. He must have been analysing whether Seungmin was honest when he said it wasn’t a problem, and it was making him extremely abashed. But somehow, he couldn’t take his eyes away. So again he just stared back, until his neighbour finally gave him a tiny nod of acceptance and turned away to come back to where he came from. 

  
  
  
  
  


For some time Seungmin thought that the days of his torment were over. The guy next door was as quiet as possible, not a single sound hit his ears from behind the wall. It was finally so peaceful. He could finally focus without constantly being stressed that his studying time is going to get interrupted. Two weeks lasted his peace. Then it started again.

He didn’t mind to change his repertoire, that was for sure. What did change though was the volume. That one thing Seungmin was grateful for. He had no right to be annoyed now, he knew that. He could barely hear it now, it wasn’t disturbing, he just knew that his neighbour was listening to music, that was all. Maybe he was just so sensitive when it came to this song that he could recognise it only from the bass sounds, or whatever it was that was overcoming the wall between them. He had no right to be annoyed. Yet he was. 

Every time it was happening, he couldn’t focus on his book anymore, all his notes were becoming irrelevant. He heard those sounds and his mind was wandering to the boy, to the sight he had met when he accidentally went through his door. His big wet eyes, and his messy black hair. The shock on his face, that probably came in place of sorrow. This tired, sad, pretty boy.

A few more times and he finally realised what kept him so irritated. It was that he was sitting there, with nose in his books, maybe not so focused now, but still sure the next day he was going to add one more to the collection of his high grades. Even if disturbed, he still had everything under control. Even if he was stressed over it, deep inside, he knew there was no real reason to be. And on the other side of that wall was that big lump of stress, crying his eyes out not knowing what to do. It was not that he was lazy, and Seungmin was sure he wasn’t stupid. He thought that there was something blocking him. He didn’t know what and the boy probably couldn’t figure it out too. Even with hard work, he couldn’t get his shit done and somehow it wasn’t fair. So Seungmin wasn’t annoyed at the music. He was annoyed that the boy struggled again. 

When he finally realised that, he could take it no more. He rose to his feet again, this time relatively calm, and left his room heading right. He stopped in front of his door like a civilised human being, staring at his book in his hand contemplating if it was a good idea. It wasn’t. But he was going to give it a try anyway. He took a deep breath and knocked on the door. 

He heard the music stop. A few seconds after his neighbour opened the door hastily.

“I’m so sorry,” he stared. “I thought this time it was quiet enough.”

His eyes were still shining even though he wiped his cheeks. Seungmin ignored all of that, including what he was saying, and he just passed him coming inside as if it was his own room. The boy’s eyes followed his footsteps as his actions surprised him again. Seungmin sat on his bed quietly and opened the book on the first page of the chapter they were supposed to learn for the upcoming exam. 

“What don’t you understand?” he asked, and he knew it sounded as if he was scolding him. To some point, he was. 

“I…” The boy tried to answer, but he was way too confused to utter a full sentence. Seungmin watched him close the door and approach him hesitantly.

“Show me which part you can’t understand,” he demanded once again, noticing that at the point in which he finally understood Seungmin’s intentions, even more confusion appeared on his face.

  
  
  
  
  


He wasn’t stupid, Seungmin always knew that. After all, how would he make it till this point if he was? Seungmin only met him twice, and he already knew where his problem was. He was a walking distraction. His attention span was up to twenty seconds maybe. He was sitting there repeating the fragment of his notes, suddenly deciding to tell Seungmin a story in the middle of it. Seungmin wanted to listen, and it was upsetting how many times he had to tell him to stop. He didn’t seem to care that much though, he must have known what his problem was. He was trying hard to fight it, and because of that, Seungmin never regretted devoting him a bit of his time. He was unorganised, chaotic, as messy as a child, yet in Seungmin’s eyes, it was all adorable.

When his teacher read out loud the names of their students along with their exam scores, it wasn’t his that made him proud. It was not his own name he was waiting for. He was more than happy to hear that Hyunjin got just a few points less than him. Hyunjin was his name, and Hyunjin had as much potential as Seungmin did. 

He sent him a smile when Seungmin found his eyes a few seats away. It was one you could call a sign of pure happiness, very bright, very happy. It filled Seungmin’s heart with warmth. 

Hyunjin caught him on the corridor again, but this time a different feeling accompanied it.

“Thank you,” he was the one to start again. “Thank you so much.”

“No problem,” Seungmin answered with an honest smile, as he started walking in the direction of another lecture hall. Hyunjin followed. “It wasn’t my achievement, you know you could do it all alone,” he added. Besides, how would Seungmin focus on his own study if he had Hyunjin weeping behind the wall all this time? He decided not to say it, though. 

“The point is that I couldn’t,” he answered, a little less happily than before. He pondered for a few long seconds about what he was going to say before he spoke again. “How can I repay you?”

“You don’t have to,” Seungmin answered right away. “It helped me prepare too, so it’s not a big deal.” He was scared to admit that, in fact, studying was more effective when he was with Hyunjin. He was distractive, yes, but explaining the more difficult points to him made Seungmin remember it better. So when he said it wasn’t time wasted he actually meant it. 

“Then,” he spoke out again, a bit uncertain. “Do you want to do that again? Before the next exam?”

_That’s in two days_ , Seungmin thought. It meant meeting Hyunjin again on the very same day, and the day after probably. It should have made him so distressed. Seungmin was a loner, he knew he was. He had friends, of course, and liked hanging out with them. Yet, two times in a row was a lot to him. Not mentioning that they just met, also twice. 

He must have been thinking about it for way too long because Hyunjin already assumed he was going to refuse. 

“Ah, sorry,” he said. “I understand if you don’t want to.”

“No, I want to,” Seungmin answered, a little bit too quickly. Well, maybe he should stop analysing how he should be feeling and focus on how he actually felt. 

He shouldn’t have wanted to meet him again. But he did. 

“See you after class, then?” Hyunjin asked, still hesitantly. 

Seungmin gave him a gentle smile and a nod before he parted to enter the hall and take his seat.

  
  
  
  
  


“I don’t get it,” Hyunjin sighed deeply as he stared at the notes Seungmin just made for him.

“How can you not get it, I already explained it twice,” Seungmin said, just playing annoyed. In reality, he had an unhealthy amount of patience for this boy. 

“Oh, speaking of _twice_ -” he started, but Seungmin already hated it.

“No,” he cut it off right away. “Back to the notes.” 

Hyunjin sighed deeply but did as he was told to. 

Three months have passed of this, what he called out loud ‘tutoring’, but in his head ‘study dates’. Hyunjin was cute, he couldn’t deny that. He never even tried to. He just never thought that meant troubles for him.

He always had him for an intelligent guy, even when he didn’t know him, and his life was a visible mess. This one changed too, by the way, since Seungmin was helping him out he didn’t have to stay up all night trying to study, he didn’t have troubles to wake up in the morning, and he wasn’t constantly late and tired. A true therapy.

Seungmin knew he was intelligent, but now he also learned that he was funny. He had soft hands, as he noticed when he accidentally brushed his fingers a few times, and when he was forgetting to control himself, Seungmin could notice he was very fond of touch. He had a melodic voice, which he probably never realised himself, and Seungmin only learned it when he was catching him on humming while reading. Seungmin thought his voice was pretty, but he never told him that. He should have told him. 

He liked Hyunjin’s hair too, even though it stayed as messy as when it was when he still had troubles. That was the only mess in Seungmin’s life that he didn’t want to get rid off. 

Once again, Hyunjin kept filling his thoughts, but this time in a different manner. 

He lifted his head, interrupting Seungmin’s drowning in thoughts. 

“Again,” he almost whined, and Seungmin rolled his eyes. He took another piece of paper to draw if for him once more. 

When he was listening, his face was always too close to Seungmin’s. It was uncomfortable, but at the same time, Seungmin didn’t want it to stop. He wanted to keep him close, whatever way he was able to get it. 

Because you see, Seungmin didn’t hope for anything to happen between them. It wasn’t possible even if Hyunjin was interested in boys too. Even in his messy phase, he was way out of Seungmin’s league. He was tall, handsome, and even though he didn’t have many close friends, Seungmin knew he was popular. Everybody liked Hyunjin. Seungmin just happened to be another fool in that line. 

  
  
  
  
  


Seungmin was already dozing off when he heard a soft knocking on his door. Who the fuck carried so much impudence in him to bother him at his hour? He slowly opened his eyes blinking heavily, not due to annoyance but to the reluctance to make any kind of action now.

“What?” He growled at the door. 

“Can I come in?” A soft voice answered in half-whisper. Seungmin’s annoyance was gone in a second. He immediately felt bad for his previous harshness. 

“Oh,” he answered, lifting his upper body. “Give me a second.” He managed to find the lamp he had on his desk, which sometimes served him for a bedlamp. As he turned it on, he realised Hyunjin was about to see him in a stage even messier than Hyunjin himself ever was. Somehow it didn’t feel uncomfortable. He found the key and hurried to open the door. 

The boy looked similar to how he did before he and Seungmin became friends. Pretty miserable, if you ask Seungmin. His eyes were swollen, and he wondered if it was due to tiredness or if he was crying again. Seungmin hoped he didn’t, after all, they met to study just a few hours before. 

“Come,” Seungmin half-whispered, making room for him to enter. The boy listened, even though he looked tense. He must have been feeling bad to disrupt Seungmin’s sleep. “What is it?”

“Nothing,” Hyunjin answered probably out of habit. “Stress…” he added a few seconds after. 

Seungmin winced. He didn’t like seeing Hyunjin like this, it annoyed him since the very beginning. Yet in the beginning, he had a very simple idea of how to end his suffering. Now he didn’t have any. 

“Hyunjin…” he started hesitantly. “You’re well prepared… You’re gonna do great, we both know that. 

Hyunjin winced in the same way Seungmin did a few seconds ago. 

“We do,” he said. “But even though we both do, I still can’t fall asleep. And there’s nothing I can do to help it.” 

Seungmin sat at his bed, already feeling defeated. He never had to deal with insomnia or any sort of sleeping troubles, so his head seemed to be even more empty now. He wanted Hyunjin to feel better, yet he couldn’t think of any solution he could offer. He helped him once, so he guessed he was the first person Hyunjin thought of. He was the closest one too, considering they were neighbours. There was nothing special about him showing at Seungmin’s doorstep in the middle of the night, or at least at the time that felt like it. He was just the first, easiest thought. Yet, he didn’t want Hyunjin to leave disappointed. He wished there was a way to make Hyunjin choose him next time. To make him choose Seungmin, because he’s Seungmin, not because he happened to be behind the wall. But there was no way he could do that. 

“Can I stay?” Hyunjin asked sheepishly, interrupting Seungmin’s thoughts. 

_Oh._

It wasn’t something that Seungmin was able to predict in any way. He knew he needed help, but Seungmin would never have guessed that what he found comforting was Seungmin’s presence. They had become friends, he was confident to say that, they were quite close now. But falling asleep together had a level of intimacy that was higher than anything they had ever done together. Seungmin wouldn’t think Hyunjin wanted to cross that line. Maybe he appreciated Seungmin’s friendship more than he thought and didn’t mind becoming even closer. Even though it wasn’t exactly what Seungmin wanted, he was still happy with that. It was the best he could get. 

“S-sure,” he finally stuttered out, making some room for him on his bed. 

Hyunjin gave him a faint smile when he approached him to lie down next to him. Seungmin pressed his back against the wall, but the back of Hyunjin’s head was still a bit to close to his face. He could smell his shampoo but tried not to give it any thoughts. His bed definitely wasn’t designed for two people. Hyunjin didn’t seem to mind though, so Seungmin tried to relax too. It wasn’t uncomfortable, he could live with that. 

“Seungmin…” Hyunjin spoke out softly once again. 

“Yes?” Seungmin answered quietly to match the tone of Hyunjin’s voice, somehow he was scared to interrupt the silence of the room. 

“If I fail tomorrow, will you hate me?” Uttering this question seemed to be scary to him. 

Seungmin’s heart hurt. He won’t fail, he knew that. Hyunjin probably knew that too, but his mind dictated him to be scared of Seungmin’s reaction if something went wrong. Why did he care so much about that? And how could he hate him for something as stupid as failing an exam? How could he ever hate Hyunjin? 

He was sure he wouldn’t fail, but he knew that wasn’t what Hyunjin needed to hear right now. 

“Of course not,” he said quietly. “I will never hate you.” 

He wanted to hug him. Having him lying so close, sad and distressed, he wanted nothing more than to cuddle him and soothe him to sleep. But he knew he couldn’t cross that line. Maybe then the tables would turn, and Hyunjin would end up hating Seungmin. That vision was too scary to take the risk.

Hyunjin gave him a sigh as an answer. It told Seungmin that he realised he wouldn’t hate him, but he just needed Seungmin to say that. He wished there was any reason to take his anxiety away.

“Goodnight,” Hyunjin said in a full whisper now. Seungmin wondered how such a simple word made him feel so warm that he wished he could hear it every day. 

  
  
  
  
  


“Give me,” Hyunjin said with longing eyes, as they were sitting in the library, Seungmin peacefully eating his marshmallows. 

“No,” he said firmly but gave him a half-mocking half-cheerful smile right after. 

“Give me!” he whined louder now, and Seungmin chuckled quietly and pushed the bag towards him before he alarmed half of the library. 

Seungmin hated marshmallows. Before, he only tried their campfire version, and they were already weird enough. The ones he was sometimes buying now were even worse. They tasted like a sponge made of sugar. A total blasphemy. An attack on his taste buds. He was never a fan of sweets and candies in the first place. He never really understood the hype on chocolate, whipped cream, candy bars and all that sweet, innutritious, food imitating things. The most he could take was a strawberry milkshake and maybe peanut butter if you count it as sweets. Marshmallows were very far from getting on that list.

Hyunjin, on the other hand, was his absolute opposite in this matter. He was a total sweet-tooth. He simply loved sweets, and if he had any close to him, he would do anything just to get them. He would whine and whine until they were his. 

Seungmin thought it was like having a puppy. His eyes wouldn’t leave Seungmin’s sweets even for a moment, and the happiness he was showing when he finally made Seungmin share was beyond adorable. 

So lately, Seungmin ‘enjoyed’ eating marshmallows. 

Hyunjin ignored the bag that Seungmin just offered.

“What?” he asked, looking at him when Hyunjin’s eyes wouldn’t leave his face.

Hyunjin opened his mouth like a baby waiting to be treated. Seungmin rolled his eyes, showing his fake annoyance, but fulfilled his silent request anyway. 

“So,” Hyunjin started with a full mouth. Annoying, but somehow so lovely. “Are you coming to the party today?”

“What party?” Seungmin asked already disliking where it was going.

“At Chan’s,” he answered, still focusing more on the sweets he was offered. 

“I haven’t been invited,” Seungmin answered hoping he wouldn’t continue the topic. He wasn’t really the type to party. “I don’t know that Chan dude.”

“Come as my plus one,” Hyunjin said shrugging. “Chan won’t mind.” 

There was something appealing in that idea. Seungmin had no idea why he wanted him to go with him. As close as they were, Seungmin was kind of boring, compared to his other friends. Hyunjin was popular, he could have asked anybody. The fact that he chose Seungmin was giving him a warm feeling. However, he had no warm feelings when he thought of the necessity of having to spend time with a bunch of strangers.

“I don’t want to come,” he said honestly. 

“I want you to come,” Hyunjin answered instantly, making Seungmin’s heart beat a little faster. 

No matter how it made him feel, he still didn’t want to come. He gave Hyunjin a faint smile as he shook his head. 

“Sorry,” he said, feeling bad for disappointing him. 

Hyunjin gave him a resigned smile as he reached for another marshmallow. He didn’t even notice that he was the only one eating now. Seungmin smiled to himself. 

“Movie night?” he offered again. 

“And what with the party?” Seungmin asked, surprised. “You don’t want to miss it,” he added, believing it was true. 

Hyunjin shrugged.

“I don’t care about the party,” he said casually. “I care about you.”

Seungmin thanked himself for buying that cursed bag of marshmallows, keeping Hyunjin too distracted to notice his blush.

  
  
  
  
  


For the first time in his life, Seungmin hoped the summer break would never come. He always enjoyed studying, there was no doubt in that. He liked working hard, and he liked getting good scores, but trying hard every day was eventually becoming tiresome. He was always waiting for summer break, so he could finally get his well-deserved rest. But this year it felt different. 

He had to leave the dormitory every time the academic year was over, and his hometown was on the opposite part of the country. Every year he visited his home twice at best, and he was coming back for the whole summer. Hyunjin, on the other hand, lived in the neighbouring city, even though he also chose to live in the college’s dormitory. Seungmin knew there was no chance for seeing his face every day, or even once a week. It was making him regret he couldn’t stay at this place for the whole summer, even if it meant the necessity of studying every day. 

Unluckily we can’t always get what we want, so Seungmin sighed resigned and started packing his bags.

“Leaving me without saying goodbye?” he heard his favourite voice when he was finally done and struggled to push his huge suitcase through the doorstep.

Hyunjin was leaning against the wall of the corridor with folded arms, not interested in helping. 

“Of course I’d come to say goodbye to you,” Seungmin gasped out, as his suitcase finally made its way through his door.” 

“I couldn’t risk you wouldn’t,” Hyunjin answered. 

“So you were just waiting here?” Seungmin asked, amused. “For how long?”

“You better not ask,” he said, and Seungmin chuckled. “How will you travel? By train?” 

There was a strange concern in his eyes, but Seungmin preferred not to ponder where it was coming from.

“My dad is picking me up,” he answered. “He’s already waiting outside.” 

Hyunjin nodded calmly and finally moved away from the wall. 

“Wait here,” he said and hurried back to his room. He came back a few seconds after with a book in his hand. “I thought the way might be boring, so I got you this.”

Seungmin took it hesitantly and examined the story’s cover before he looked up to meet Hyunjin’s eyes. He wasn’t sure what to say. 

“I wanted to thank you, for all the help you gave me this year,” he explained quietly. Seungmin wasn’t sure if his soft tone was the reason why all of that felt so intimate. 

“You didn’t have to-” he started, but immediately got interrupted. 

“I wanted to,” Hyunjin insisted, and Seungmin knew there was no arguing to that. 

“Thank you,” he said then, and Hyunjin gave him a smile before he stepped closer. 

“Actually this book doesn’t matter, I hoped you could take something else with you,” he said, and it made Seungmin wonder, since his hands were empty now. 

Then Hyunjin leaned in and kissed his lips. A single peck, that was it. But for Seungmin, it was everything. 

He couldn’t recover from the shock it brought him, so he was just standing there with doe eyes, as Hyunjin slowly turned to go back to his room.

“Don’t miss me too much,” he said at his doorstep, and with one warm smile, he was gone. 

Seungmin knew he could never grant his request. 

  
  
  
  
  


When he was finally at his dad’s car, still taken aback, he opened the book that Hyunjin had given him.

The first page had a small drawing of a swallow, and right under it, there were two simple lines written in black ink.

_Now, I am not afraid at all._

_I fancy you._

Seungmin chuckled quietly, not able to hide his happiness anymore. 

“Funny story?” his dad asked, noticing his son holding the book.

“Funny…” Seungmin murmured pondering for a while on the true meaning of this word. His thoughts went back to the time he first met Hyunjin. To the time when he accidentally burst into his room, full of rage. He remembered how he swore at him in his thoughts every time he played that song Seungmin used to think was cursed. How quickly he started caring about him, and how he unnecessarily made himself believe Hyunjin would never like him back. “Pretty funny, if you ask me.”

He couldn’t wait for the summer to end.

**Author's Note:**

> so I cheated on my thesis with this one.
> 
> it's been a long time since I wrote something (college really sucks y'all) so I'm not sure if it's even good enough to publish, but I guess there's no point in writing something just to keep it in drafts forever
> 
> I hope I'm not as rusty as I think I am and you enjoyed it somehow
> 
> hopefully, I'll manage to come back before my own graduation
> 
> see you~


End file.
